I hate ticks.  I really, really hate ticks.  Living for so long in Utah, I had come to view ticks as rare, dangerous creatures, almost mythical in nature.  You see, in the 40 years I lived there, I only ONCE saw a tick on one of my pets, and never found one on myself.  No, I wasn’t a stay-at-home type—in fact, I spent a lot of time hiking, camping, etc.  Ticks just aren’t a big thing out there.

Fast forward to Northern Virginia.  Our first five months here were blissfully tick-free—wrong season, I guess.  So we were rather blindsided by the tick disaster that was Mason Neck State Park.  Holy cow!   We wore DEET, the dog was on Revolution, we didn’t bushwhack or hang out in low shrubs or weeds.  No matter—the ticks found us anyway.  Being somewhat averse to creepy-crawlies anyway, I fear I dealt poorly with the situation.  In my world, “dealing poorly” means spending money.  A lot of it. 

One of my first purchases?  Sawyer Premium Insect Repellant.  As soon as I read the description I knew I had to have it, for my own piece of mind.  This isn’t really a traditional repellent, and it’s not meant for use on the skin, but rather as a treatment for clothing and gear.  Read on!

Sawyer Premium Insect Repellant touts Permethrin as its active ingredient.  Permethrin is a synthetic chemical related to (or based upon, if you prefer) pyrethrin, which occurs naturally in the seed case of chrysanthemums.  Permethrin acts as a neurotoxin, binding to sodium channels and slowing the nervous system of affected creatures.  Put simply, it kills ticks (and chiggers, mites, and mosquitos) on contact.  They come in contact with it, they die.  It tends to work better against cold blooded creatures, and is thus highly toxic to insects (as well as amphibians, reptiles, and fish, so don’t dump this stuff in water!).  While it is usually not harmful in therapeutic doses to warm blooded animals, CATS are the exception—permethrin, a leading ingredient in anti-flea products for dogs, can kill cats.  Something to keep in mind.

The great thing about permethrin is that it binds with clothing fibers, making it safe and durable—Sawyer Premium Insect Repellent lasts through six washings or six weeks.  It’s a little bit of a hassle to use, but, considering you only have to deal with it once every six weeks (or six washings), it’s not too great a hardship.

Use, in a nutshell?  Choose your dedicated tick clothes (light colored shirts and pants with elastic pant leg bottoms are best for spotting ticks and preventing them from reaching skin), including shoes, socks, and jackets, if weather calls for it.  Spray them outdoors according to directions, with special attention paid to cuffs and collars.  A 24 ounce bottle was exactly enough to spray three shirts, three pairs of pants, three pairs of socks, three pairs of shoes, and three hoodies.  Oh, and one back pack!  After spraying (the company claims the product is odorless, but it stinks like fresh paint when wet, dries to almost odorless, which fades after a wearing), the clothes should be left hanging outside for a few hours.  After each wearing, they should be bagged and tossed in a dark closet. 

We’ve kept our dedicated hiking/tick clothing separate from other laundry, and we’ve kept track of the re-spray date on the calendar.  This all sounds great on paper, but how does it work?

Pretty danged good, it looks like.  We’ve hiked Rock Creek Parkway, Mason Neck, and the Manassas National Battlefield in our tick clothes, and nary a tick on us.  Now, it could be argued that our tick-free status is a result of our staying to the trails and wearing DEET on our exposed skin, but for a couple of things—one, we were wearing DEET the first time out, and hubby had a gaggle on him, and two, while we came home tick-free, the dog, who walked the same path we did, had four ticks on him after last weekend’s foray through the Manassas Battlefield.  So, while we traveled the same paths as the dog, we didn’t get ticks, he did.  So I’m going to go with the “Sawyer worked” theory.  Mostly because I’m not about to go sit in a tick-y field and test the theory sans Sawyer.

Remember, this is not a product meant for use on bare skin!  For that, I recommend DEET.  Used to be, I was a Picaridin girl, but the ticks out here seem to require a bit more.  If you’re into camping or picnicking, Sawyer can be used on tents and other camping gear, chairs, blankets—basically anything with cloth fibers.  Again, don’t use this on clothing while you wear it or immediately before wearing it.

And that’s all.  We paid sixteen bucks for the 24 ounce bottle of Sawyer Premium Insect Repellent, and I’m super-happy with the purchase.  Combined with 40% DEET lotion for exposed skin and a 30% DEET spray for the hair, ears, and neck, we came away from a very tick-y area (Manassas Battlefield) which requires a fair bit of overland hiking to see various spots with no ticks on us.  The dog can’t say the same--too bad this stuff isn’t for use on pets, huh?

Recommended: Yes